


i found you before the festive lights

by jirachis



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff with a little Angst, Han Jisung | Han is Whipped, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Non-Linear Narrative, Red String of Fate, SKZ Secret Santa 2020, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Supernatural Elements, Tsundere Lee Minho | Lee Know, but not too much this is really just fluffy, felix has a driver's license here deserve bestie, jisung goes down memory lane, minho & jisung just wants the other to be happy, minho isn't really human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28314888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jirachis/pseuds/jirachis
Summary: “I’m Jisung! Nice to finally meet you,” he blurted out, extending his right hand.“Am I in some sort of trouble?” The other asked, glancing at Jisung’s hand with uncertainty.“No! No, I –, well, just see for yourself,” Jisung said quickly. He pointed at his right pinky in front of him then at the other’s left. “I, um, think we’re soulmates?”The boy tilted his head to the side further as he raised his own hand in front of him. His eyes slowly widened as the reality sunk in, glancing back and forth between his finger and Jisung’s.Oh no. He doesn’t look happy.--Or, Jisung takes a trip down memory lane on how his relationship with Minho formed before he moves out of their shared apartment.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 106
Collections: SKZ Secret Santa 2020





	i found you before the festive lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heaveninbusan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heaveninbusan/gifts).



> hi! this is for my giftee, **[@minhofansite](https://twitter.com/minhofansite)** , from the SKZ Secret Santa 2020 event held by **[@stayfanevents](https://twitter.com/stayfanevents)** on twitter. i hope i didn't stray too far from your prompt! ♡ i definitely enjoyed making this fic. :D
> 
> this also serves as my first fic for this fandom!
> 
> **happy holidays, everyone! ♡**

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung sighs as he opens the front door of his apartment, an empty medium-sized box under his arm. He takes in the living room, only a coffee table and two large boxes on the otherwise bare space could be seen. Jisung eyes the identical boxes, one of which is labeled _My Stuff!_ with his handwriting.

So, this is finally happening. He takes a deep breath, adjusting the box he carried as though it gained a new pound in the past few seconds. Today's the day he'll say goodbye to this tiny apartment he had called home for 4 years. All the memories he and his friends had made in this space metaphorically tucked inside one of the moving boxes.

After locking the door behind him, he examines the tiny apartment, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach at how his home feels like a stranger's. The cute little children in the paintings on the wall that used to greet him whenever he came home late are absent. The two potted blue-green cacti Jisung cared for like his own sons aren't present and asking for water. The buzz of the fridge in the adjacent kitchen and the sounds of water dripping from the faucet he promised to have fixed two years ago aren’t there.

The black opaque curtains that would sway as the early evening breeze blows through them are missing and Jisung is only met with closed windows.

A half-finished painting on the easel in the corner isn’t begging to be finished.

The feeling of three cats nuzzling and purring against his legs as welcome doesn’t come.

Warm, familiar arms comically smelling like Febreeze don’t scoop and twirl him up and around. Kisses that highlight his day don’t pepper his face.

Jisung's tears start to form at how unfamiliar everything is after all the years. Peeking into his bedroom, he is met with a clean mattress that used to be covered with cartoon squirrel sheets, walls that used to be filled with his anime posters, and a bedside desk that used to be littered with papers, paint, and instant coffee bottles. Images of a red-eyed Jisung at 3 AM tirelessly working for his degree and a jollier Jisung with friends casually hanging out in this room after every midterm season flash before his eyes.

He kneels down in front of his desk and places the box beside him. All that’s left in his room to pack are the precious memories he stored at the bottommost drawer. He opens it and immediately he’s eye-to-eye with a picture of himself during his first night of sophomore year.

The Jisung in the picture grins widely by the fountain in the park beside their university, giving a peace sign with his free hand. This is just a regular selfie to send to his loving parents at home, telling them he made it to the city safely, except there’s something special only Jisung and one other person can see. Jisung smiles as he traces a finger on a thin red thread connected on the right pinky of the then-blond Jisung in the picture to the left of a hooded figure leaning on the fountain a few feet behind him. The person’s face isn’t visible, but the red thread clearly ends on their finger.

Jisung remembers this day like the back of his hand. It’s his first encounter with Minho. Except, it wasn’t really the ideal soulmate-meeting Jisung had daydreamed of. He’s lying if he said “he couldn’t have it any other way”, because surely, he probably could.

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung noticed it after he left the park. He had been on a call with his (now former) roommate Hyunjin who mentioned moving in with Changbin, his soulmate whom he met just three weeks ago. He didn’t catch on to some of his words as he felt a loose thread latching on his finger. 

“I promise, your new roommate will be cool! He was Changbin’s roommate.” Hyunjin said from the other end of the line. “But, you’re really sure about this? I know I just told you yesterday, but it’s totally fine if we don’t switch right off the bat.”

“It’s fine, Jinnie. I know how excited you are to be with Changbin. I’m really happy for you by the way!” Jisung replied, half-invested in the conversation as his irritation bubbles. He peeked at his finger and noticed a red thread, probably from the sweater he was wearing. He tried pulling it off.

“That’s great because he already moved his stuff in!” Hyunjin was enthusiastic, he was probably with Changbin right now. Then his voice lowered, “Minho doesn’t have the best rep on campus, but Changbin and I promise that he’s a good guy. He used to be the ace of our dance team, so I should know. Treat him kindly for us.”

“Yeah, Myungho. Great dude. Gotcha.” Jisung’s frustration had peaked in the middle of what Hyunjin was saying. The thread was not cutting off and it was extremely peeving. He finally brought his finger up to his face to check and noticed that the thread was tied in a neat knot on his pinky, as if intentionally. He eyed the thread and saw that it was longer than he had thought, and went back into the park. Weird. Hyunjin was still talking to him through the phone, but Jisung was preoccupied. He scrunched his nose in confusion and began pulling on it, but no matter how hard he tried to break it, the thread didn’t fray.

A blurry old memory of his grandma telling him about something about a red thread was trying its best to resurface. “Hey, I’ll call you back later, ‘Jin!”

“Wait! His name is Mi–,” Jisung ended the call before Hyunjin could finish.

Finally, the memory came back and Jisung’s state of mind immediately went from annoyed and confused to elated. His grandma really had told him about this! _“The red thread is a soulmate connection that only appears visible to both when you pass them by._ _Everyone may experience different soulmate connections, but I think the red thread is the most romantic. It’s how your grandfather met me, after all.”_

This has got to be it! Multitude of thoughts ran through his head as he eagerly dashed back to the park.

He bumped into a lot of people and bowed in apology multiple times as he followed the thread; the early evening air not the only reason for his goosebumps. After a minute, he found himself by the fountain at the edge of the park again, only now noticing a seated hooded figure leaning on it. The red thread seemed to end on that person who was peacefully reading a book. Jisung studied the person before confirming that, yup, the thread did connect to the figure’s pinky as it swayed every time the other flipped a page. He caught his lower lip between his teeth and slowly made his way forward, nervous all of a sudden.

_Just say “hi, I’m Jisung!” Is that too formal? How about a “hey, you’re my soulmate!” Is that too forward? Will that scare him off? Make a good impression!_

“Excuse me?” a voice said. “Is everything okay? Do you need anything?”

Jisung didn’t realize he had lowered his eyes to his feet while he was thinking. He immediately gazed back up at the person in front of him and _wow, okay, this guy’s hot_. He had a defined face with high cheekbones and a sharp nose, the orange light from the lampposts at the side of the park illuminating his face beautifully. He also looked pretty familiar. He guessed the other thought so, too, judging from how his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. 

The other’s head was tilted slightly to the side, his dark brown doe eyes looking at Jisung questioningly. Oh. Jisung ducked his head in embarrassment. How long was he just standing there? He hoped he didn’t creep the other too much.

“I’m Jisung! Nice to finally meet you,” he blurted out, extending his right hand. “I’m so glad I finally found you! I hope we get along.” He worried his lower lip as he peeked at the other through his lashes. He still had his hood on, so his face wasn’t that visible from the whimsy lighting from the lampposts illuminating them.

“Am I in some sort of trouble?” The other asked, glancing at Jisung’s hand with uncertainty. Jisung straightened himself. _Oh god he hasn’t caught on yet!_ “How do you know me?” _Great, you made him uncomfortable. Real smooth, Jisung._

“No! No, I –, well, just see for yourself,” Jisung sputtered. He lifted the red thread between them and looked at him in anticipation. When the other still didn’t follow, he pointed at his right pinky and then at the boy’s left. “I, um, think we’re soulmates?” 

“Soulmates? Me?” The boy tilted his head to the side further as he raised his left hand in front of him. His eyes slowly widened as the reality sunk in, glancing back and forth between his finger and Jisung’s. _Oh no. He doesn’t look happy._

“Unless for some reason a random thread decided to get stuck between us!” Jisung chuckled nervously, tugging the thread to no avail. He looked back at the other, whose mouth was agape. _Grandma said soulmate unions were an exciting moment. God, he really doesn’t look happy._

“I’m sorry.” They spoke at the same time. “What, why?” They talked in unison again. If this were some other time, Jisung would’ve laughed, but the other boy’s eyes looked… worried? Disbelieving? Even fearful.

“Ah, this is a mistake, um, Jisung was it? I’m sorry but,” the boy said, slowly backing away. “Please leave me alone.”

“Wait, huh?” Jisung shook his head and started walking towards the other. “Hey, you can’t just leave!” 

A few heads around them began looking their way. _Oh no, this really isn’t what I was expecting_. Jisung called after the boy, but he just ignored him and walked faster away from the park. He felt annoyance bubble up inside him. Why was this guy so rude? Did Jisung not give a good first impression? Even still, that was totally unfair on his part! Screw it. Jisung chased him.

“I don’t care if you’re disappointed that fate gave you me!” Jisung was right behind him now. “Whether you like it or not, we’re connected! The least you could do is give me a name.” He grabbed the boy’s sleeve which made him swivel around to face Jisung. His hood fell when he turned, revealing messy jet black hair that stuck out in random directions and a smooth pale face Jisung swore glistened. His eyes looked scared and his eyebrows were raised. Even still, with the moonlight and the orange light from the lamps highlighting his features, he looked absolutely beautiful. Jisung felt the same feeling of familiarity as earlier.

Jisung took in a breath and released him from his grip. “I’m sorry, am I really that disappointing?” Jisung began, his self-esteem plunging at being rejected by his _soulmate_. Tears began welling up in his eyes. Jisung wasn’t one to chase other people, but this guy wasn’t unlike the rest. The thread which swayed between them as a breeze passed proved that. Little Jisung had always wanted to meet his soulmate. Platonic or not, this person was the one fate said matched him well. “But you don’t even know me yet. I don’t even know your name, too. Can we give this a shot? I promise I’m better than what you’re thinking of me now.”

Jisung didn’t notice a stray tear fell down his cheek and he abruptly wiped it away. The boy sighed and put a finger on his lips. “Just listen.” Jisung nodded and that’s when he realized the buzz of voices of the people around them were whispering the same things:

_That’s him. Minho. From the rumors? He’s here._

_Minho. A monster. The one_ that _person was looking for._

Minho. Jisung’s definitely heard that name before. A lot of odd rumors surrounded the older and a sudden shiver went up his spine as he recalled them. Minho noticed and pursed his lips.

“So you do know me, at least by name. If you want to save your reputation here, you need to cut it out.” Minho’s scared expression turned sad now. He pulled his hoodie back up his head then rubbed the thread on his pinky. “I’m really sorry someone like me is connected to you. Don’t get me wrong, I used to love the idea of soulmates, so I can guess what you’re feeling. But this is really for the best, Jisung.”

Minho gazed directly at the blond’s unreadable eyes and started backing away. “I’m sorry again. See you around.” But before Minho could fully turn away, Jisung grabbed his wrists. “Wh– what?”

“I’m sorry if I’m acting like we’ve known each other for years, but you have no right to tell me what to do.” Jisung’s eyes were wide and genuine as he told Minho off. Minho’s lips slowly parted. “I want to have my own opinion of you.”

“Jisung, are you crazy? Don’t you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t. Probably the people around us don’t either.” Jisung exhaled in relief as he noticed the people started dispersing. “I want to know _you_. And for that to happen, I’m not letting you push me away,” Jisung nodded in resolve, his eyes twinkling. “I know fate won’t connect me to someone bad. It doesn’t work that way.” _Grandma said so!_

Minho looked like he was contemplating Jisung’s words, but he still turned away. “You really shouldn’t associate with me, Jisung. Just leave. You don’t deserve someone like me.”

“I don’t care.” And Jisung really didn’t. No way someone like Minho with innocent doe eyes, who showed that he cared about him without realizing it, was someone like what the rumors painted him as. Minho looked lonely. He looked so sad and conflicted. Jisung strengthened his resolve further. Soulmate or not, “I’ll stay with you and I’ll be the one who decides my opinion of you. I just found my soulmate and you expect me to leave?”

Minho didn’t say anything at first, obviously taken by surprise by Jisung’s sincerity. He then released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He figured nothing he would say would convince Jisung for now at least. “Fine, whatever.” Minho was sporting a subtle blush, though Jisung didn’t know if it was from frustration or if he felt touched by Jisung’s sincerity. Nonetheless, when he started walking away, Jisung still grinned and tagged along. 

Jisung remembered trying to do some small talk with Minho, where he just ended up ignored, but it was fine. Minho is his soulmate; he truly believed everything would settle perfectly.

“Wait… you’ve got to be kidding me. _You’re_ Han Jisung?”

“And you’re actually Myungho?”

“ _Who?_ ”

Turns out fate really was on his side as both of them looked at each other, mouth slack, in front of Jisung’s new apartment door, the same set of keys in their hands. A second later and both were on the phone with their friends. Hyunjin was elated at the news. Minho, however, wasn’t really that delighted, as he talked in haste to a poor Changbin.

(He entered the apartment first to leave Minho who was still on call alone, but not before hearing “Yes, I did sign up for this, but that was when I didn’t know he was my soulmate! No, I didn’t recognize him. You didn’t say he’s blond now!” Jisung didn’t understand what he meant. 

Hyunjin later texted him ‘ _your new roommate is kind of an idiot.’_ He giggled.)

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung gingerly places the picture inside the box and giggles. Who would’ve thought Changbin had been Minho’s roommate? Needless to say, Changbin was also Minho’s closest friend and confidant. Jisung was overjoyed at this information; that means Minho wasn’t a bad person after all! He trusts Hyunjin’s judgment of people and any friend of Changbin’s is a friend of Jisung’s by extension.

Jisung remembers Minho being cold to him after their first encounter. Minho would always wake up first and head out of the apartment before Jisung did, and he only ever came back to the apartment to sleep for the night. Jisung also had Minho’s college schedule with him (thanks, Hyunjin!), but was bummed when he realized none of their breaks matched. The only time they could see each other on campus was in between classes when Jisung had chemistry, and Minho just finished his. No matter how much Minho would try to avoid him (which they both knew was futile, they had a thread attached to them), Jisung would always greet him gleefully. 

Minho tried implementing a ‘1-meter distance rule,’ to which Jisung _did_ try to comply with since he respected personal space. But when Jisung forgot his umbrella and ran across campus in a rainstorm two weeks and a half after their meeting at the park, it was, by “coincidental meeting”, Minho who pulled Jisung beside him as they walked back home underneath Jisung’s Studio Ghibli-themed umbrella.

(“How did you find me?”

“It was a coincidence. I just came out of my last class.”

“But according to your schedule, you should be at our apartment!” Jisung sneezed and blew his nose on a tissue. Minho grimaced and stood up to head out of Jisung’s room. “Your classes end earlier than mine, too.”

“They don’t.” _They do_. _Plus, you were using my umbrella._ “Shut up and drink your soup.” He left the door slightly ajar, in case Jisung needed him for anything more.)

After the umbrella incident, nothing much happened. Annoyed that their friendship wasn’t going anywhere after three weeks had passed, Jisung pondered on how to strengthen it. Maybe they could finally get along with each other after sharing a few stories over some food? _Yeah, food never fails_. Jisung stretched his arms over his head and gave himself a pat on the back as he set his alarm three hours earlier than usual.

Sadly, once Jisung finally finished preparing some bacon and pancakes for their breakfast, he fell asleep on the dining table while waiting for Minho. Jisung slightly woke when he heard dishes being cleaned in the sink, but was too drowsy to get up. He was falling in and out of sleep when he felt a ruffle on his hair accompanied by a whispered _thank you_ , followed by their front door opening and closing.

("Did you like the breakfast I made?" Jisung smiled.

"It wasn't anything special."

"But you even bothered to say thanks while I was asleep!"

Minho was caught off-guard. "Huh?"

"Aha! So I _wasn't_ imagining it!"

“You’re really making me regret living in your apartment. You never shut up.”

Before Jisung could inquire further, Minho already left, his ears red. Jisung felt something in his chest flutter.)

Their friendship sort of improved after that: they finally talked during breakfast! After a few days of Jisung talking about his childhood and how he loved capturing memories into paintings and pictures, Minho slowly told him about himself as well. Jisung learned about his passion for dance, some of his childhood blunders, and his favorite places to eat. Jisung made sure to giggle whenever Minho tried to be funny (he tried his best!). His favorite story was about Minho’s friendship with Changbin who turned out to be his friend since their freshman year together. He mentioned being happy Changbin finally found his soulmate – that it had been Hyunjin, the guy he secretly fawned over ever since his and Minho’s dance team won in the nationals last year.

(“Hey, check his recent Instagram update! He looks adorable in his big sweater!” Changbin flopped on top of Minho on his bed, pushing the screen of his phone to his face.

“I’m not interested – hey! Stop shoving your smelly phone on me!” 

“Just look!”

“This isn’t even Hyunjin.” “Ah, the feed refreshed. This is Hyunjin’s roommate, Jisung. You know, the Arts kid.”

Minho grunted, pushing Changbin off of him. For some reason, though, he couldn’t take his eyes away from the boy on the phone. “He’s pretty cute.” The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them.

Changbin’s eyes widened at Minho’s confession. “Don’t. Say. A. Thing.” Minho’s face burned.

Changbin then started telling more stories about Jisung which he got from Hyunjin as a tease and Minho, underneath a façade of indifference, couldn’t help but get more curious.)

Jisung asked how he felt about Hyunjin and him switching apartments. Minho spluttered on his orange juice, much to Jisung’s confusion. He coughed before answering.

“It was annoying since Changbin only brought it up with me two days before I was supposed to move back to the city, but I didn’t mind. He really wanted to be together with Hyunjin and who was I to deny them their joy.” Minho said, getting up from the table and placing his plates on the sink. He mumbled something more: _He also said you’re going to be my new roommate._

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that?” Jisung asked, following Minho’s actions. Minho didn’t reply.

A few days later, Jisung decided to ask Minho to watch a movie with him one night, except he fell asleep before Minho came home. He realized after a few nights of observing (just three, but it was enough) that Minho would only come back to their shared apartment after midnight. Now, it wasn’t Jisung’s right to pry, but as the thread pointed in a direction uncommon for people to be at that time of night, he couldn’t help but get curious.

He had asked the help of his friend Felix (“ _sorry ‘Lix, you’re my only close friend with a car”_ ) and with the help of the little red thread of fate as well, he'll _coincidentally_ be wherever Minho was! It was genius.

Jisung chuckles to himself as he reaches into the drawer again, his fingers brushing against a silver name tag.

🌟🌟🌟

9 PM on a Wednesday was when Jisung found himself glancing back and forth from the red thread that entered the double doors of a 7-11 to its end on his finger. He had been on standby for minutes, impatiently tapping the hood of Felix’s car while waiting for Minho to come out of the building. It had been around 10 minutes the next time he checked his wristwatch and from the looks of it, the convenience store wasn’t even full. Why was Minho stuck there at ass ‘o clock?

Felix appeared beside him, leaning against his car. “You know, if you wanted to window shop at a convenience store, you could’ve chosen the one beside your apartment.”

“Oh shut up, you know why I’m here,” Jisung huffed with no bite in his voice. “Soulmate duty!”

Felix was unimpressed, already used to his friend’s quite funny behavior. “Since when did driving 20 minutes to spy on a 7-11 become ‘soulmate duty’? We passed by around 6 of them on our way here. You sure Minho’s still in there?” Felix hadn’t met anyone with the ‘red thread of fate’ as their soulmate bond yet, so it was understandable that he was skeptical. Jisung nodded and tugged at his thread to confirm.

“Shush! Someone’s coming out.” Jisung whispered, ducking his head below the car’s hood and peeking his eyes out. Disappointment washed over him when just some grandma was leaving. He sighed and went back to his previous position. Thunder rolled above them.

“I wonder what deal Minho has inside,” Felix pondered then gasped, a finger shooting upwards. “You think he’s seeing someone in secret?” Jisung choked on his spit in surprise, eyes widening and eyebrows furrowing. 

“What if he is?” He croaked out. “Nah bro, I’m just messing with you – and there he goes,” Felix said to himself, watching Jisung finally storm into the convenience store. “Buy me a Slurpee while you’re in there!” He called after, Jisung throwing a thumbs-up behind him in response.

Jisung was worried for nothing apparently as a drowsy Minho opened the door from what he believed was the stockroom. The black-haired male gave a halfhearted service greeting before he realized who had entered.

"Jisung?" Minho gaped, his hand still holding the doorknob. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to buy a Slurpee?" Jisung answered unconvincingly. 

"You do know there are like six –"

"Yeah, I know,” Jisung mumbled, holding his palm up to cut Minho’s words. “Fine, I just wanted to see why you kept going to this sketchy area at night." Jisung's eyes lowered. He gestured his hand towards Minho as he walked towards the elder grinning. "The uniform suits you by the way." 

“Well, now you know why I’m not in your apartment right now. Congrats,” Minho’s face flushed slightly at the flattery and he pulled his collar up to cover it ineffectively. “Now please just get your Slurpee and go. This is embarrassing.”

“You really love pushing me away, don’t you?” Jisung joked, no ill-meaning behind his words. “Don’t you –” Jisung was cut off as Felix pushed open the doors. “Jisung! Man, let’s go. I’m getting bad vibes from this place. I don’t think Minho would wanna see someone in Spook Town.” He heard the sound of the pitter-patter of rain from outside.

“Shit! You didn’t come here alone?” Minho immediately entered the tiny stockroom, pulling Jisung with him. It was small enough for three people to fit, but this sudden close proximity between them caught Jisung off-guard. “Please don’t tell anyone I work here. I really don’t want people to know.”

The light above them flickered as Jisung nodded. He realized just how close they were in this stuffy stockroom, an arm of the elder around his waist and another on Jisung’s bicep. He breathed in the faint aroma of Minho’s perfume – _hold on is that Febreeze_ – and closed his eyes as he thought of how unfair that even in the shitty lighting of a 7-11 stockroom in the outskirts of town, in a crumpled and stained crew uniform, Minho never failed to make his heart thump. Jisung furrowed his eyebrows at his thoughts. _Minho makes my heart beat faster? Wait, when did that start?_

“I won’t tell anyone, promise,” Jisung mumbled. He raised his right pinky, the thread visible and dangling in the short space between them. “But in exchange, can we hang out more?”

Minho belatedly realized he still had his arm around Jisung and he released him, much to Jisung’s subconscious disdain. _Why did I feel disappointed?_ “We already see each other every day.”

“You know what I mean!”

Minho exhaled audibly in a poor attempt to make him seem unaffected by the younger’s gesture. He hooked his left pinky on Jisung’s. “Fine. I’m free tomorrow night. I’ll… I’ll make sure to come home earlier.”

Jisung shook their pinkies, the thread swinging along, and beamed at Minho with his full gummy smile in show. “That’s the first time you said it.”

“What do you mean?” Minho averted his eyes from Jisung.

“You called our apartment ‘home.’” Jisung’s heart was _definitely_ beating fast and he’s pretty aware that it had the same effect on Minho judging by the way he snorted as his face heated up.

Felix sipped audibly on his Slurpee as they pulled away from the 7-11, the rain hitting the car hood with heavy drops. “What were you doing in the stock room?”

“A staff just asked for help since she couldn’t read the expiry date of some noodles.” Jisung, too, sipped on his Slurpee. Thank god Minho’s coworker didn’t question their antics. Though he did get an eyebrow raise when she punched his order at the cashier while Minho (so obviously) hid behind the chips section and waited for the duo to leave. 

“Also, Minho wasn’t even in there. Your thread is kinda unreliable, ‘Sung.”

“Yeah, I guess Minho already left. The thread just looped around the aisles and came out. I just didn’t notice it went out.”

“Huh, you’re usually very observant,” Felix said, his voice laced with doubt. He decided not to push Jisung on for now. “By the way, let’s not go to that place anymore.”

“What’s up?” Jisung turned his head to look at Felix, whose eyes were on the wet road. 

“I think some rat? Cat? Pushed one of the trash bins in shock when it began to rain. Which surprised me, not gonna lie. Got nothing better to do while waiting for you, so I checked it out to maybe put the bin back upright. But,” Felix glanced back at Jisung before looking back in front of him. “I saw an empty blood bag with the local hospital’s logo printed on it. And you know what’s weirder? There was a straw attached to it. Isn’t that creepy?”

Jisung’s Slurpee didn’t taste all that sweet suddenly.

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung starts sorting through the polaroid shots of him and Minho. He thanks the gods that he did it, all the little memories stored in the tiny film matched with Jisung’s cute doodles. Yes, Minho did come home early the next day and they decided to watch Jisung’s favorite Studio Ghibli film: Howl’s Moving Castle. Even after the movie ended, they still exchanged stories and he would be lying if he didn’t feel his glee rising every time Minho accidentally lets himself laugh, though he would pass it off as a cough. The older’s smiles also grew larger as time passed, Jisung wasn’t sure if Minho had noticed it. _Finally_ , Jisung thought. _Minho was slowly breaking out of the walls he set around himself._

Jisung still knew Minho was wary with and around him. He didn’t fully trust Jisung yet, but that was okay. There was progress, and Jisung didn’t want to force Minho to open up more than he was comfortable with. Whenever Minho caught himself having a gleeful expression, he would abruptly switch his face back to his usual neutral. 

The second month since their first meeting passed and he was slowly yet surely getting along better with Minho. He was a bit confusing and Jisung knew that he was also confused himself. Minho was always a bit on edge and would tend to cower back in his shell whenever he felt vulnerable. Minho was fighting an inner battle, and Jisung once asked if the older wanted to talk about it, to which he shook his head.

Even if this was true, Jisung still managed to catch Minho’s smaller details. He noticed Minho’s subtle expression changes. He saw fear and worry glaze his face whenever eyes lingered on him. He saw sadness whenever Changbin couldn’t meet up with him because of the other’s part-time work. He saw a tinge of red on his lips whenever he went into the bathroom before breakfast.

He saw relief hidden beneath the cold exterior whenever Jisung appeared. Even when the older would get cheeky and hide from him, Jisung never relented to his games (one time, Minho went to the 7th floor of the administration building, much to Jisung’s legs’ chagrin) and would never fail to meet up with Minho whenever his classes ended earlier than the older’s.

(Minho had expressed one night that he had felt lost and alone. He appreciated how Jisung could find him when he couldn’t even find himself, that he somehow felt a little bit at ease when he’s around. Jisung didn’t catch what he meant and said it was all because of the thread. Minho didn’t think so.)

Jisung knew deep down that his feelings for the other started blooming as well. After a whole week of denying it, he decided to save himself from the trouble and just accept it. They gradually became more comfortable with each other, and before they both knew it, more than three months had passed since their meeting. Their every-other-day movie date ( _friend date!_ ) somehow ended up with the two of them cuddled up under a single blanket on the couch (Minho pushes him away immediately after). They soon migrated to Minho’s bed (“it’s more comfortable than my room because of all the easels there! We can even stretch our legs compared to the couch.” and Minho couldn’t rebut when Jisung offered him the right to choose the movie for a whole week in exchange).

Minho always slept early, and would seldom fall asleep on Jisung’s shoulder. Jisung would allow the movie to keep playing in the background on mute as the light from his laptop would dance on Minho’s features. 

(Once, Jisung gathered the courage to trace Minho’s cheekbones with the pad of his thumb. He was entranced. Gulping, he brushed some of his hair off his forehead so he could see the other’s face better. Jisung admired how long his eyelashes were, how sharp his nose was, and how cute the little freckle on the side, how plush his lips were. He smiled endearingly at the little puffs Minho made when he exhaled. He looked so peaceful and Jisung’s heart swelled when he realized their friendship’s progress. He was surprised Minho didn’t awake from the audible hitch Jisung made when the older unconsciously nuzzled his fluffy hair into his neck.)

There were times when Jisung thought Minho would do something more. They had known each other just for a few months yet Hyunjin would tease him on how head-over-heels both of them were for each other. (“Changbin mentioned Minho looked brighter these days as well.” Hyunjin spoke in passing, stuffing his face with red velvet cake in the café they were at.) Jisung couldn’t deny that as each day passed, his affection for Minho grew more and he secretly hoped Hyunjin was right and that Minho felt the same way, too. 

All those stolen glances, the poorly hidden blushes, the subtle touches, the accelerating heartbeats. Both of them knew they had this effect on the other. The unprovoked yells and door slams (all of them from Minho) when Jisung came out of the shower with only a towel covering his lower half. The snuggling when they wake up after falling asleep in the middle of the movie and Jisung’s groans when he realized his laptop’s battery had died (“Idiot, this is the fourth time you forgot to charge your laptop while we were watching.” – “You forgot, too and, hey, stop pushing me off the bed!”). The subconscious hand-holding (Minho immediately withdrew his hand when Jisung pointed it out) when they went shopping for decorations for their apartment, only to come home with a single painting and two blue-green cacti. 

The one memorable night during a lazy Sunday, with the tips of their noses touching, gazes held, and no one dared breathe. It was Minho who pulled away first back. They never brought it up again. Though, Minho did start taking more hours in his part-time job at the convenience store after. 

Minho’s attempts at keeping Jisung away at arm’s length were faltering. However, he still tried. He still caught himself whenever he showed too much enthusiasm or whenever he felt like he was gravitating towards Jisung. It was only after four months since their meeting when Jisung found out the source of the rumors. 

Jisung smiles as he holds onto a candid picture of Minho who was grinning widely at the camera, finally free from his shell and the walls he built around himself.

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung pedaled on his bicycle as fast as he could. He, Hyunjin, and Felix had finished up a tough group project for one of their electives together that took up a whole day and were now just hanging out. It was a Saturday, both Minho and Changbin had their respective part-time work tonight. The three best friends decided it was as good a time as ever to catch up with each other since they were all free from their responsibilities for now. Their professors had been unrelenting with the workloads for the sophomores as the semester was a month away from ending. 

The topic of soulmates came and they had all teased Jisung, making the younger blush deeply. He excused himself from their circle for a bit and decided to cool off and breathe in the cool night air at the veranda of Hyunjin’s apartment. 

So when Jisung raised his hand and noticed his thread went the opposite direction of Minho’s 7-11, he knew something was up. The only relevant buildings that were in the direction of the thread at this hour were his apartment and the hospital, and like hell was Minho home this early. He ignored Hyunjin calling back for him when he ran across the spacious living room and out of the apartment with nothing else but a “soulmate duty! Tell you later!”

As he got closer to his apartment, he belatedly realized he left his coat at Hyunjin’s as his teeth started chattering. Damn November wind! He knew he had to pick up a spare at his own apartment if he wanted to survive the trip his thread had in store for him. Turns out it wasn’t necessary.

Jisung knew he wasn't seeing things when he flicked the lights of his apartment unit on, panting quite heavily from the bicycle ride and the run up multiple flights of stairs. He knew that he saw his roommate enter the same room through the window holding a shopping bag. He remembered the shock of his roommate's face upon seeing him – remembered pointy fangs poking out of his mouth when his lips formed an _O_. He remembered when his roommate gave him an awkward wave, a red thread tied in a neat knot on his pinky.

"Um, hi, you’re early," Minho greeted. He smiled awkwardly before stepping down from the ledge. "I can explain." Jisung just continued to stare at him blankly as Minho fumbled clumsily on his feet as he hastily shut the window. Right as he was about to close the curtains, however, a large bird – no, _bat_ – slammed into the glass with a loud thud, causing Minho to jump in surprise and drop the shopping bag whose contents spilled on the floor.

"Dammit, ‘Bin!" Jisung heard Minho hiss, but it was the least of his concern. He blinked slowly at the dozens of small dark red bags, all with the local hospital’s logo printed on the front, that decorated the floor. One of which was leaking fluid, Jisung noticed, from two puncture holes and was seeping into the cracks. Jisung's eyes followed the thin trail leak as it flowed and stopped a few inches from his feet.

Yes, Jisung may have just come home from a grueling group project that required three brains and more than 13 hours working together, and thus he may not be the most coherent right now. He was tired as well; the digital clock perched on their coffee table in front of the couch read 11:26 PM. He blinked, once, twice before looking up at his roommate. Wait, was he arguing with a bat right now?

"I didn't take all the fucking AB's!" He whisper-yelled. "Let's just talk about this later, I'm kind of in a situation here." Jisung chose then to clear his throat and Minho swiveled around, pulling the black curtains closed along with him. "Hey, _oh_." Minho cringed as he saw the red fluid pooling on the ground. "I can totally explain."

Jisung's eyebrows raised, but his expression was completely blank. "Yeah, uh, Minho? Quick question."

"Go for it."

"Uh-huh, did you pay the bills yet?"

"What?" Minho didn't expect this. "I mean, yes, uh, yesterday."

"Cool." Jisung nodded, head feeling light when his nose finally caught the metallic smell that his poor head concluded came from the fluid. Damn, Jisung really should've taken up Felix’s offer to bring vodka for their catch-up. He didn't like how aware he still was. "Were you talking to a bat?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Minho bit his bottom lip when he realized it came out as a question, then winced when his fangs poked his bottom lip.

"Right.” He mumbled, stretching the ‘i’. “Last question. Is that blood?" Jisung asked, his body getting heavier as fatigue and whatever the hell this situation was caught up with him. As far as Jisung knew, they lived on the fourth floor of the apartment building. His vision started to get hazy as well.

Minho hesitated and pondered for a second. "Yeah, but it's all legal, I promise." He chirped.

"Cool. Legal blood. Lots," Jisung nodded and felt a dopey smile unconsciously form on his face. “One sec,” he glanced at the window and could manage to see a silhouette of a large figure with wings, seemingly waiting for someone to notice it. _What?_ Yeah, this wasn't processing in poor Jisung's head right now. 

"Hey, Hyunjin!" he called out to no one, his voice sounding slurred. "I’m taking a nap for a sec." It only took one step before his legs buckled and his eyes rolled up his head. Jisung half-consciously expected to hit a hard floor, but instead was met with warm arms and a panicked voice that called his name, before he blacked out.

When he came to, he was on his bed. Minho had his eyes closed and was leaning on the bed frame beside him. He felt something warm in his hand and saw Minho’s palm on top of his. His face started heating up slowly as his vision sharpened itself. He pulled the blanket up further to cover his cheeks, only his eyes peeking out from underneath. Minho must have felt Jisung’s movements as he let go of his hand and blinked up at Jisung.

“Good morning?” Minho shakily said, eyes looking hurt at Jisung’s seemingly scared reaction of covering himself up. “Please don’t be scared of me. But, I really understand.” Jisung tilted his head in question then realized the events of the night before. He slowly lowered his hands. “I’ll explain everything.”

Jisung nodded, urging Minho to continue. Minho sighed, looking directly at Jisung’s eyes. He looked pained and scared and Jisung wanted nothing more but to hug him tight, but he was too confused to even move. Minho took in a deep breath and exhaled. “The rumors are true. I’m a monster. Last year, the same thing happened. I didn’t know I had a guest in my solo apartment at that time.”

Jisung realized he was holding his breath. Minho closed his eyes. “I’m half-vampire, Jisung. I’m so sorry for hiding it from you as best as I could, even when I knew you’d find out someday.”

They didn’t speak for a whole minute. “Half-vampire,” Jisung silently tested the words off his tongue as his brain tried processing the new information. Did it make sense? Not really. If it were any other time, Jisung might’ve called it a bluff, but Minho’s expression right now told Jisung that he was serious. “My soulmate is a half-vampire.”

“I’ll save you the trouble. I know you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore so I packed all my things while you were asleep. I’m heading out after lunch.” Minho stood up and ran a hand down his face. Minho looked like he was close to crying. It seemed like he was ranting to himself more than Jisung. “I knew we shouldn’t have become friends. Why did I even bother? This was stupid.” A tear fell from Minho’s eye. “I’m really sorry you’re connected to someone like me. But please keep this a secret between us? I, I don’t want the rumors to spread more than it has again.”

More tears fell from Minho’s eyes and Jisung connected two and two. Changbin had once mentioned in passing that Minho used to have significantly more friends than he has now. He was even in a national-level dance troupe with Hyunjin. He also had a really close friend, but they stopped meeting up with each other for some reason. That was around a few days before Minho’s reputation around the campus sank. _Ah_.

Jisung leaped from the bed and enveloped Minho in the tightest hug he could give. Minho shook underneath him. “Don’t leave.” He whispered to his chest.

Minho pulled back a little to find Jisung’s face, surprised Jisung was crying as well. “Aren’t you scared of me?”

Jisung stared at him. “Honestly, I was a little,” Minho inhaled sharply and tore his eyes away from him. “But that’s only because of the spooky stereotypes which were pushed onto me since I was young. You’re so much more than that. Plus, you look even more scared than I am.” Minho stared back at him in disbelief.

“What?” 

“I told you four months ago, didn’t I? That I would create my own opinion of you despite what you or anyone told me.” Jisung laughed, bringing his hands up to cup Minho’s cheeks. “We only knew each other for a few months, but seriously, you’re one of the kindest people I have ever known. You love cats a little too much, you dance while you cook when you think no one’s looking, you’re one of the funniest people ever. Remember when I caught a cold? Ignoring all the times you called me stupid for running across campus without an umbrella during a rainstorm, you still brought me medicine and made me chicken soup. You send your parents good morning and night texts, god, even I don’t do that daily!” Jisung squeezed Minho’s cheeks when the older rolled his eyes, his face burning red. “You care for the people around you.” Jisung wiped the tears falling from Minho’s eyes. Jisung could tell Minho had always put himself down ever since the rumors began. He needed a waking-up call. “You’re not as bad as you think you are, you know? I care for you a lot, too.”

Minho choked as more tears fell from his eyes, prompting Jisung’s tears to fall more, too. “You mean that?”

“Yeah, so please don’t leave. I don’t want you to leave.” Jisung wrapped his arms around him again, tucking Minho’s head on the curve where his neck met his shoulder. “Stay with me.”

Minho’s ears were pink again and he hugged Jisung back. “You’re too much,” Minho whispered. “You aren’t saying this because you’re basically forced to be my soulmate?”

Jisung scoffed. “I think I can make my own decisions without this dumb thread. If you suck, I would’ve left months ago.”

“Don’t call our soulmate bond stupid, stupid.” Minho lightly hit him in the back and sniffed. “Also I do suck, I’m half-vampire.”

“Stop ruining the moment, idiot.” They both laughed. “Hey, quick question, is the ‘’Bin’’ you were talking to last night the same as Hyunjin’s Changbin?”

“That’s not my secret to tell.”

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung’s phone rings twice, but he doesn’t bother picking it up since he already knows who it’s from. He could hear the front door unlocking and not a minute after, he’s being picked up from the ground in a back hug. He carefully drops the box from his hands and spins around in the other’s grip.

“Hi,” Minho says, smiling at him.

“Hi,” Jisung replies, rolling his eyes in fondness before adjusting Minho’s favorite mint-and-dark green plaid scarf around his neck. “I thought you'd stay in the car?”

“You were taking too long,” Minho sticks out his tongue as Jisung tightens the scarf. “I got impatient and maybe I wanted to see our little home for the last time, too.” 

Jisung chuckles. “Well, you’re just in time. I’m just finishing up. Also, check it out, I didn’t know the Soulmate Memory Drawer had this much stuff in!”

“I’m surprised you didn’t. You basically put everything in here. I’ll be shocked if you didn’t put the rock that was beside me when we first met,” Jisung huffs at Minho’s words to which the older just laughs. (Jisung has the rock, too. He went back to the fountain after three months and was confident it was the same rock from before. He just hopes Minho won’t look deeper into the box, he can’t tolerate his teasing right now. He didn’t want to break away from his nostalgic mood.) 

Minho crouches down to look into the box. He starts carding through all the pictures, receipts, and literally everything Jisung decided held a special meaning for the two. Minho’s heart melts at the number of memories Jisung wanted to keep of both him and them. Some of the objects in the box have special handwritten post-it notes of why it was significant. A particular item catches Minho’s attention. “You even kept this, Sungie?”

Jisung leans down and takes the small purple velvety jewelry box out of Minho’s hands, a post-it note with the word ‘Finally’ and a drawing of a fountain and Christmas tree on it. “Of course, Min. This is one of the most special.” For emphasis, he takes out a necklace with a butterfly pendant originally tucked underneath his green turtle neck. The sapphire gems of the pendant glint prettily in the light of his former room, as though reminding them of what heartfelt event took place with it.

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung had grown accustomed to Minho being a vampire. Um, _half_ -vampire because his father was human. He found out that the fridge in his room which Minho specifically told Jisung not to touch was where he kept all the blood bags, and that the hospital they’re getting the blood from is owned by one of Minho’s mom’s friends. Being a half-vampire wasn’t as exciting as how movies portrayed them, according to Minho himself. He wasn’t immortal, nor did he have any other special power. Sunlight didn't bother him much; the worst it could do was make his skin itch under long exposure (Jisung agreed to change their curtains to black opaque ones. He painted colorful smiling kittens and squirrels on them to make them look less dreary). The only positive of being a vampire was his heightened senses and (mediocre, compared to pure vampires) strength. Otherwise, it was a damn curse because of the need for blood to survive.

Minho had never attacked anyone in his life since the blood donation bags were sufficient enough for him to live. He just needed to drink a quarter-liter per day to settle his thirst, though he would sometimes drink more when he felt like it. In perspective, Minho was just like any other human. Jisung had told him how boring he was compared to his expectations and Minho slammed him with a pillow.

The walls Minho had built around him were also finally crumbling to dust, and Jisung could cry at how welcomed he feels in Minho’s space. But, he kind of wished for more. He knew, they both knew, more so now that both of them had been dancing along the lines of platonic and not. It was only a matter of time before they tip over, but Jisung was still reluctant to put Minho in that position (“Dumbass!” Hyunjin told him, laughing as he slapped his knee. “You just don’t know how to confess.”) 

Jisung didn’t want to wait any longer after a pep talk with Changbin himself (he seemed to know something about him which only he and Minho knew) convinced him that it’s time. Minho and Jisung both agreed to stay in their apartment for winter break (or until the 26th as their parents still wanted to see them for New Years’), and Jisung was determined for a specific change in their relationship.

It was two hours until midnight on December 24th when Minho sat on the windowsill, beckoning Jisung over. He was wearing a long coat, his favorite plaid scarf, and boots. He was obviously planning on leaving tonight. Reluctantly, Jisung agreed and went over. “What is it? You do know our landlady put us in a curfew for the holidays.”

“That’s why we’re going out from here.” Minho kicked his legs in the air for emphasis. “Don’t you wanna see what I’ve been saving up for? Though it’s fine if you don’t want to.” He pouted, looking up at Jisung, and how could Jisung say no? Jisung nodded, already knowing what Minho was going to show him, and went back to his room to put on a thick dark green turtleneck, a padded coat, mittens, and boots. After making sure all the lights were turned off and all the electricals had been unplugged from their sockets, he rushed back to where Minho was and put his arms around his neck, adjusting himself on Minho’s back. 

“You know the drill, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll just hold on tight. It’s not as if this is our first time doing this just this week” Jisung rolled his eyes and Minho snickered. Suddenly and without warning, Minho dropped from the windowsill, Jisung yelping in surprise as his stomach did a somersault. “You’re a menace.” Jisung bit his shoulder playfully once Minho’s feet were in solid ground and Minho guffawed. 

“You should’ve seen your face!” Minho laughed, setting Jisung down on shaky legs. Jisung leaned on him for balance. “You good?” He said in a softer tone.

“Yeah, are we going anywhere far?” Jisung asked, hooking his arm around Minho’s. 

“Nah, it’s just a few minutes’ walk. Come on.” Minho answered, pulling Jisung closer.

They exchanged stories as they walked, mostly Jisung, pointing at random areas and telling the other of an event they had there. They were lucky their apartment was in the quieter side of the city. The sidewalk was vacant, with only the random passerby. It was chilly out, his breath formed puffs every time he exhaled. The buildings and lampposts around them were decorated with Christmas lights and wreaths with a big red ribbon and golden bells on each. Garland of varying colors lined door frames and window sills, some of them glinting when light hit them. Cut-outs of snowflakes, Santa and elf hats, and reindeers were also placed on the building walls. It made the area so colorful and festive. Jisung knew that as soon as the city woke up, joyous melodies would fill the currently empty streets.

In around seven minutes, they were in front of a chain-link fence at the back of their city’s pound. It wasn’t that high, only about two feet or so taller than Jisung. Minho unhooked his arm from his and went to the side of the fence, pulling up the wire mesh.

“Okay, since when did you cut this open? Isn’t this illegal?” Jisung grumbled, but complied with Minho and went underneath the wire mesh into the pound with no hesitation.

“Yeah, it is, but it’s for a good reason!” Minho beamed. Jisung smiled. _Minho always showed this much enthusiasm whenever he was excited. I’m happy he’s comfortable enough to show these sides of himself now._ He stopped by the back door of the building, lifting the mat and taking the hidden key from underneath to unlock the door. Once inside, he navigated Jisung past the empty cages towards a specific one at the corner.

“You told me you were fostering kittens, are these them?” Jisung asked, sitting beside Minho. Minho nodded and whistled, and then, a few moments later, a single tabby came forward. The orange tabby was skinny and was obviously shivering. Minho immediately undid his scarf and put it around the cat. If only there weren’t any bars in between them, Jisung was sure Minho would’ve hugged the cat and took her home with them. Jisung watched in awe as Minho pet the cat, telling it that the scarf was safe. It looked like the cat agreed as it snuggled the mint-and-dark green colored cloth. He cooed internally as he saw Minho’s eyes soften and scratch the cat behind its ear.

“I thought there’ll be more of them, though.” Jisung smiled, his eyes on the cat who seemed already so used to Minho’s presence.

“I heard the past week that no one would keep watch of the pound tonight, so I prepared for our sneak-in yesterday. No way am I letting this little one spend the night cold.” Minho rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Also heard there were a lot of cats that got adopted this month. All the cats I fostered have a home now, except my little boy Soonie.” Minho gazed sadly as Soonie still shivered despite only his face being visible underneath the scarf. He’ll get warmer soon. “Soonie got really sick a few months back and I had to take more hours at the store to get money for her operation. He’s doing pretty fine now, but people didn’t want to take a chance at a sick cat.”

Jisung gasped. “Poor Soonie. He’ll find a home, don’t you worry.” Jisung slowly put his hand in the cage, not wanting to scare him. He glanced at Minho for confirmation that he was doing the right thing, and when Minho’s eyes softened, he allowed his hand to get closer. He held his breath as Soonie sniffed his hand a few times, then released it in relief when the cat gave a lick of acceptance. Jisung grinned at Minho who returned the smile before Jisung gingerly pet the little boy. “I mean, who could resist him anyway? He’s adorable.”

“I’m going to adopt him, ‘Sung,” Minho stated with determination. Jisung turned his head towards Minho quickly.

“You will?” Jisung’s eyebrows shot up.

“Ah. I mean, only if you’re okay with it.” Minho’s face turned pink. “It’s our apartment, so you get to have a say as well.”

Minho looked absolutely nervous if his eyes not meeting Jisung’s were a telltale sign. Jisung giggled and Soonie meowed, wide eyes shining as if anticipating his answer as well. Oh, how similar this cat and Minho were. “I already said that no one could resist Soonie, didn’t I? I’d love to have Soonie in our home. I’ll even help with the adoption fee and all.”

Minho squeaked and, god, Jisung was whipped. Minho practically jumped on Jisung, hugging him tightly. “Thank you! Thank you! I’ll pick Soonie up as soon as the semester starts if that’s fine?” Jisung ruffled Minho’s hair. 

“We’d need to buy supplies first like cat food and maybe a cat tree, you know. We can’t just get him without preparing.” Jisung found it weird being the voice of reason, but if it meant he could see Minho pout again, then so be it.

“Leave those to me.”

After giving Soonie treats and scratching his tummy until he fell asleep, they decided to leave the pound and Minho suggested they check the park. It was an ideal time as it was half an hour until Christmas now and no one was on the streets. Minho was scarfless, but he mentioned that he didn’t even notice at all, being not-so-human and all that. 

“Hey, Jisung, want to play something?” Minho chirped as he skipped ahead a little.

“Sure, what is it?” Jisung asked, half-missing Minho by his side to give him more warmth.

“Let’s play hide and seek. Race you to the park!” Minho said amusedly and not long after, he dashed forward with a speed Jisung knew he did on purpose, the little gloat. A bright light flashed from somewhere beside him, and he turned to find a moving Santa ornament on an empty building, his beard blinking and his whole body tipping towards the direction Minho ran off to as if telling Jisung to hurry up. He shook his head and chased after the older to the park, the red soulmate thread showing him the way. It seemed like the thread was glowing, but it must’ve been due to the festive lights.

The park was spacious and green, but now it looked more like a winter wonderland with fake snow littered in specific areas of the park and large statues of reindeers and a Santa sled on the grass by the entrance. There were also cardboard cut-outs of gingerbread houses aligned at the edge. Christmas lights and lanterns of various shapes decorated the trees and topiary plants. Also, a big Christmas tree wrapped in Christmas balls and lights, silver garland, and angel cut-outs with large gift boxes at the bottom was situated at the center of the widest area of the park, the star on top golden and bright.

He followed the thread and groaned. Minho had run around the damn park and the thread encircled different statues. It took Jisung around three minutes of running around aimlessly (he probably would’ve looked like a madman in other people’s perspectives) before he spotted a jet black-haired boy sitting on the fountain at the far side of the park – exactly where they first met each other months ago.

Minho was looking up towards the sky when Jisung stepped in front of him, waving his hand. “Jisung! You found me.”

“Found you.” Jisung rolled his eyes. “You made me run around the park like a fool.” Minho snickered at that, obviously his plan. 

“It was funny. I didn’t know why you couldn’t have just gone here directly.” Minho said and patted the space beside him. Jisung nudged Minho lightly before plopping himself on the fountain with a tired groan.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, absorbing all the pretty decorations around them and the cool winter air. Jisung then glanced at his left and saw Minho clenching and unclenching his fists, obviously troubled.

“Do you want to talk about something?” Jisung asked and Minho nodded, turning slowly so his front was facing him.

“Yeah, it’s… about my vampire thing. There’s another reason why I tried pushing you away before.” Minho let his hand get held by Jisung, a sign Jisung hoped showed Minho that he will be there for him no matter what. He massaged his knuckles with his thumb for comfort. Minho continued. “Remember that I was part of a dance team last year? Ever wondered why I quit everything and made my appearances in public minimal?”

Jisung squeezed his hand. “Because of the rumors that spread?”

Minho looked up at the sky. “Partially, but that isn’t just it.” Minho’s hand started shaking and Jisung pressed it with both hands, urging Minho to go on. “There are bounty hunters that come after vampires. Our blood costs a fortune, so my mom said. When the rumors spread,” Minho inhaled sharply. “One of them appeared in the city, according to the hospital. My mom forced me to hide, so I did.” Minho bit his lower lip. “It was so scary, Jisung. I never knew what the bounty hunter looked like. No one wanted to get in touch with me aside from Changbin and a few people from my dance team. I couldn’t deny the rumors, it would just make me stand out more.

“For a whole year and more, the hospital urged me and ‘Bi– my other vampire friend, to remain vigilant. It would also be too obvious if we just suddenly dropped out, so we had to blend in. My friend was fine since he wasn’t on the suspected list, though we were both scared, he feared for me more. I told him and Changbin not to be seen around me in public because I always felt like I was being watched. I don’t want them to get involved in my problems. I did my best to stay in crowds and avoid any contact from people. During my breaks, I couldn’t go back to my apartment, so I stayed at the pound.

“The bounty hunter left around a month before this semester started. They likely didn’t get evidence to pin me as a vampire, thank god that I’m only half. Even still, I can’t help but feel paranoid whenever I’m alone in a crowd. Once this semester started, I took up a job somewhere no one from here would most likely find me.” Minho stopped for a second, catching his breath. His eyes looked glassy. 

“I never want you to ever feel that kind of isolation.” Minho was looking at Jisung now, his eyes laced with concern. “If ever I’m found out as a vampire, and they find out you’re with me, you’ll be interrogated. They might do things to you in order for you to speak. I don’t want that.” Minho’s body slumped forward onto Jisung’s, Minho’s forehead pressed onto his chest. “But, I don’t want you to leave me, too.”

Jisung suddenly felt the urge to protect Minho. He imagined a Minho fearful of his life with no one but Changbin by his side against all the rumors. He could imagine Changbin, so worried for his best friend, but unable to do anything but be a shoulder to cry on whenever Minho came back home. “It must’ve been scary, and I’m thankful that you’re concerned for me,” Jisung wrapped his arms around him. “But I told you I’m not leaving and I’m standing by that. We just have to be more careful, right? Since you’re just a half, it’ll be easier for you to blend in. I’ll keep you in check, don’t worry. We’ll get through this together.”

“I’m still scared, Jisung.” Minho wrapped his arms around the younger’s waist. “But, I believe you.”

Minho pulled away from Jisung a little and they gazed into each other’s eyes. The fountain had lights installed in it that made the water glow golden. It made his soulmate look even more beautiful. God, Minho is so beautiful, isn’t he? The golden light from the fountain made him look like one of those Greek gods Jisung would paint for his final project. Artistically sculpted features, a brave, enigmatic, and selfless personality, all built into one Minho. Jisung felt so happy to even be his friend.

Minho tucked Jisung’s newly dyed brown hair behind his ear. “You’re so beautiful, ‘Sung.” Minho breathed, not taking his eyes off of Jisung’s. From the reflection in Minho’s eyes, he could see himself smile before he knew it. _Minho also thinks of me the same way,_ he confirmed _._ Jisung remembered how he would catch Minho looking at him with eyes only now can he be confident enough to say that gazed at him with so much admiration before looking away with a blush when he realized he'd been caught.He was too obvious. 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Jisung replied almost silently, not wanting to break the atmosphere. Puffs of air from their breaths condensed between them, merging together. The blush on Minho’s face deepened when Jisung glanced at Minho’s lips who subconsciously wet them in turn.

“Can I kiss you?” Minho finally whispered, and it only took Jisung one nod before they both leaned in and closed the gap. It was like the world fell silent at that moment, like they were encased in a tiny bubble where only their heartbeats and the seemingly distant splash of water from the fountain as their music. Minho’s lips were so soft and smooth in contrast to Jisung’s chapped ones. He tasted like his mint toothpaste and strawberry from the lip balm he used which Jisung gave him last month. 

They melted against each other, one hand of Jisung running up Minho’s arm to the nape of his neck, pulling him in impossibly closer as Minho simultaneously pulled Jisung against him as well by the waist. They deepened the kiss, Minho licking Jisung’s bottom lip before Jisung welcomed it in. Jisung groaned as they made out; this was definitely months due. He felt so familiar and comfortable with Minho, as though they were made for each other. Which they were, Jisung reminded himself. The thread connecting them glowed even brighter between them in agreement.

They parted for air and Jisung giggled at Minho’s totally flushed face, his lips slick and red. “Don’t say a word,” Minho mumbled.

“You look adorable.” And if Jisung had a dollar for every time he got Minho flustered, he would probably have enough money to buy Soonie all the cat treats from the nearest pet store. Minho linked their hands together before a thought passed through his head.

“Ah, hey, um, I know this probably is kinda late, but,” Minho rummaged into his coat pocket and produced a small purple velvet box. Jisung gasped, it’s from the shop he won’t stop peeking at every time he and Minho went to the mall. “Soonie wasn’t the only reason I spent more hours at work.”

Minho wasn’t meeting Jisung’s eyes when he opened the box, and yes, there it was. Jisung’s eyes gleamed at the piece of jewelry inside. It was a silver necklace with a butterfly pendant, blue sapphires embedded on its wings. “ _Willyoubemyboyfriend_?” Minho whispered quickly.

Jisung giggled and decided to tease Minho a little. “Minho, you have to look at me!” He scolded.

Minho frowned and faced him, his eyes darting from Jisung’s then back to the fountain. Jisung decided to push him a little more. “Okay, what did you say again?” 

Minho faced him, his blush somehow deepening more and more, spreading to the tips of his ears. “Will you _bemyboyfriend_?”

“What?”

“Dammit Jisung!” Minho suddenly outburst and Jisung couldn’t help but chortle at Minho’s flustered and annoyed expression. “Do you want to be with me or not?”

Jisung softly held Minho’s chin and gave him a peck on the lips. “Yes, Minho. I’d love to be your boyfriend.” Jisung guided Minho’s hands to his neck and Minho then attached the necklace on him. The silver and blue glinted as various festive lights hit it. “It’s so beautiful.”

Minho smiled, but before he was able to return a cheesy reply, a snowflake fell between and around them, and Jisung’s phone alarm beeped.

“Oh my god, it’s snowing right on Christmas day!” Jisung stood from the fountain and gazed up at the sky, watching as snow and snowflakes fell. He pulled Minho by the hand to stand beside him, too. They interlaced their fingers and Jisung can’t help but give Minho a wide grin which the other returned. 

“You do know that the first snowfall you see with your loved one means you’re destined to be together for a long time, right?” Minho stated matter-of-factly. 

Jisung smiled and hooked his arms around Minho’s neck, standing on his tiptoes to connect their foreheads. “Guess you’re stuck with me for a while, then.”

“Can’t have it any other way.” Minho nuzzled their noses together. “Merry Christmas, Sungie.” 

“Merry Christmas, Min.” He greeted before kissing his boyfriend again.

(When they went home through the window again, Jisung made both of them hot chocolate while Minho made some smores. Jisung gave Minho his Christmas present, the best-selling (and out-of-stock in all the nearby bookstores; Jisung had to ask Felix for a request again. Felix regretted ever telling Jisung he owned a car.) sequel to the book Minho was reading when they first met. Minho gave him a big hug as thank you. The whole night they just ate, laughed, and maybe gave each other a few – okay, a lot – of kisses. In the morning after, they were cuddled against each other. They only got up after noon. Everything was perfect.)

🌟🌟🌟

Jisung puts a picture of him and Minho during his graduation ceremony, silver butterfly glinting on his chest, in the box before taping it shut with packing tape and placing it on top of the other boxes. Maybe he and Minho had gotten a few unused Christmas Cat stickers, a freebie from their local café that Jisung saved in the drawer, and stuck them onto the bed frame a few minutes ago, a reminder to whoever gets this unit next that this place used to be someone else’s loving home.

“The movers said they’ll be coming in a while, just don’t lock the door,” Minho says, tucking his phone back into his pocket.

“The next people living here better take care of this apartment or I’m filing a lawsuit over emotional damage,” Jisung says as he steps out of the doorway of their now former home, looking at the empty space for the last time. Minho’s arms make their way around Jisung’s waist from the back and Minho settles his chin on Jisung’s shoulder. The younger fiddles with the thread on Minho’s pinky.

“Hey, look, it’s snowing,” Minho says, pointing at the window. From outside, they could see the lights of Christmas glistening in multicolor. If Jisung listens carefully, he could hear faint festive songs playing in the background. “Guess we managed to see it at the same time for the third year in a row!”

“It’s really fate, I guess?” Jisung replies, leaning his head on the other, feeling the weight of the butterfly necklace shift on his chest. Minho kisses him on the cheek and hugs him tighter. Jisung looks above them and sees a mistletoe attached at the top of their door frame, likely by their landlady (Jisung gave her homemade biscuits yesterday as a goodbye gift. He will miss her, too, despite all the scolding he got from her due to noise complaints against their unit). He giggles and spins around in the older’s arms and gives him a peck on the lips. “I love you a lot, Minho. You know that, right? I’m so thankful we found each other.” 

“I love you, too, Sungie,” he plants a longer kiss on Jisung’s cheek before he lets him go and holds his right hand with his left. “Also, stop being cheesy! As if you don't always brag to my face and everyone else's about how, _technically_ , you’re the one who found me.” Minho pulls Jisung’s hand playfully. “Now, come on, the cats are waiting at home. I swear to god if Soonie gets hungry because you’re being too sentimental over our old shitty apartment –”

“Don’t call our home shitty! It was perfect!” Jisung gasps in feign offense.

“– and then decides to scratch the front door of our _new_ and _better_ apartment in revenge, I’m kicking you out so you can live here again.” Minho threatens with no bite to it. Jisung giggles and steps away from the door, and after breathing the air in it for one last time, he closes it shut. A metaphor of one chapter ending and another opening.

“Let’s go.”

🌟🌟🌟

**Author's Note:**

> **[twitter](https://twitter.com/linoriing) **   
>  **[curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/hanmiing) **
> 
> thank you so much for reading!! comments & kudos are highly appreciated! 
> 
> i'm thinking of making a sequel to this, or some kind of in-between story that takes place somewhere between minho & jisung getting together and the final scene of this fic. a little bit of action, maybe?
> 
> again, happy holidays!! ♡


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